Double Stack Miata on the trailer???

In reply to Rodan :

Careful I will be, like I said - I think the Trailer Toad is the correct solution. Honestly even with one car on the trailer I'm not a fan of pulling a real trailer with the RV vs a 4 wheel down toad. 

TIL Trailer toad. 
 

What rock have I been under?

In reply to SV reX :

The Trailer Toad has roots in motorsports...  a friend of mine came up with the design that is currently sold as the "Trailer Toad", and sold the rights to the guy that currently makes them.  Bob was one hell of a fabricator, and designed the trailer toad after breaking a motorhome frame towing this around the country:

In reply to Rodan :

Yeah, I'm still convinced - maybe erroneously so - that I can build one after looking it over, it's just a very very dense trailer w/ articulation. 

LoL - Is it using a trailer hub as the pivot??

rb92673 said:

10k GVWR seems to be a number they don't typically go over for CDL licensing reasons or something.

 

That includes the GVWR of the tow vehicle, which is why you can get an F250 with a 9,999 lb GVWR. Anything over that, being used commercially, triggers a bunch of DOT regulations. You don't need a CDL at 10,001 lbs but you do need inspections, a logbook and a DOT medical card. The next threshold is 26k, that's where you need a full CDL.

A 10k rated trailer doesn't really mean anything in that regard.

This might be in conflict with the tone of my other post, but I feel like if you're in a situation that involves a trailer toad it's a sign that you really shouldn't be doing whatever you're trying to do.

In reply to dps214 :

I don't do stupid where towing is involved - RVs are notorious for bending for all the reasons in this thread - it has nothing to do with pulling/stopping power. Especially w/ twin braking trailer axles.

The underpinnings are a GMC-3500HD Dually - it has no problem starting and stopping w/ the trailer vs without. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

GVWR is the gross weight of the loaded vehicle.  It is used for either the tow vehicle or the trailer, but not both.  When they are combined, it is referred to as the GCWR. (Gross Combined Weight Rating)

accordionfolder said:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/oKAX_zr6oKA?rel=0

LoL - Is it using a trailer hub as the pivot??

Why in the world would anyone need a Trailer Toad for a 19' single axle trailer??

In reply to SV reX :

lol - Hey - don't ask me, I'm just looking at the build. 

SV reX said:

In reply to Keith Tanner :

GVWR is the gross weight of the loaded vehicle.  It is used for either the tow vehicle or the trailer, but not both.  When they are combined, it is referred to as the GCWR. (Gross Combined Weight Rating)

Apologies, wrong acronym. But the rest should be correct - I don't know of any licensing situation where the GVWR of the trailer is taken into account separately from the GCWR.

I do know that the fact that my tow vehicle is a 2500 instead of a 3500 means I don't have to pay to drive I15 through AZ when towing my 28' trailer, and it's all up to the GVWR of the truck and thus the GCWR.

SV reX said:

Why in the world would anyone need a Trailer Toad for a 19' single axle trailer??

Looks like he's towing it with a minivan.  Maybe it doesn't have enough GVWR to account for both the passengers/luggage and the tongue weight?

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

Perhaps. 
 

Technically a Trailer Toad would not change the GCVW.  It would actually REDUCE his towing capacity (because you should also be subtracting for the weight of the Toad).  It improves tongue weight, but not GCVW.

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

If you're right, he's likely towing overweight.  That trailer weighs 3300 lbs, and the Toad adds another 1000.  Add the gear inside, the people, bags, holding tanks, etc. He's easily hitting 6000 lbs (and most mini vans are rated for about 3500 lbs). I've also never seen a minivan with a class 3 hitch (which is required for the Toad).

Hope he doesn't have to stop quickly. 😳

In reply to accordionfolder :

I've been doing a little research on the Toad (because I'm intrigued- kinda like the concept).

The manufacturer says a weight distributing hitch is required with the Toad.  That might be an issue for your RV

SV reX said:

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

If you're right, he's likely towing overweight.  That trailer weighs 3300 lbs, and the Toad adds another 1000.  Add the gear inside, the people, bags, holding tanks, etc. He's easily hitting 6000 lbs (and most mini vans are rated for about 3500 lbs). I've also never seen a minivan with a class 3 hitch (which is required for the Toad).

Hope he doesn't have to stop quickly. 😳

Yeah, I was attempting to avoid muddying the water further, but that's definitely not the use case prescribed on the Trailer Toad's website, nor does it seem advantageous. Maybe it avoids some bending loads through a unibody vehicle - similiar to how you're avoiding putting loads through the extended frames on RVs - but I don't think that vehicle is up to to the task over the long run.

SV reX said:

In reply to accordionfolder :

I've been doing a little research on the Toad (because I'm intrigued- kinda like the concept).

The manufacturer says a weight distributing hitch is required with the Toad.  That might be an issue for your RV

They mean off the back of the Toad itself - you put the weight distributing hitch on the "second" ball hitch - not the first ("first" being the one attached to the RV).

You can see it in their various pictures on their site - which makes sense because you'd want the loads into those wheels. 

In reply to accordionfolder :

Ok. That makes sense. 
 

Apparently the laws for these can vary by state.  In some states it is considered triple towing.

SV reX said:

In reply to accordionfolder :

Apparently the laws for these can vary by state.  In some states it is considered triple towing.

That was something I'd been wondering about - There was a guy who had truck->RV->TowDolly+miata one year at TTNats, it cracked me up. He made it both directions without getting hastled, but I'd imagine it depends on the day of the week and what cop you run into.

To clear up a little confusion, the Toad does not pivot from the tow vehicle.  You mount a WD style shank on the front, and it goes into the receiver on the tow vehicle.  There is some up/down articulation, because that's what takes the dynamic stresses off the tow vehicle.  While the axle has a couple of inches of pivot to reduce scuffing in tight turns, it does not articulate.  The axle is designed to be locked in place for backing.

The rear of the Toad has a ball for the trailer, and uses a WD hitch only to hold the Toad level in relation to the trailer.  It doesn't transfer weight to the Toad like a normal WD setup would to the tow vehicle.

Since the Toad doesn't articulate from the tow vehicle, it should not be considered a 'trailer' in any state, but it is possible that you could get hassled.  You could definitely argue that it makes any particular combination safer because it decouples the handling of the tow vehicle from the trailer by removing the pitching input.  That doesn't mean someone won't try to use one to do something unsafe.

Full disclosure:  I have zero affiliation with the guy that sells these.  I knew the guy who designed it, who has since passed.  I do own one, and it works.  Towing our 24' enclosed at 7k without the Toad you could definitely tell the trailer was back there.  Towing our 22' stacker at 12k with the Toad, it was like driving without a trailer, except you knew the weight was there accelerating and braking.  This is behind a 42ft Class A weighing 38k loaded.

Thanks for all the input/feedback/info!
 

To clear up a little confusion, the Toad does not pivot from the tow vehicle.

But it does have a pivoting deck, correct?  

 

In reply to Rodan :

Question 2: does that SOB really weigh 1000lbs?! 

In reply to Rodan :

I agree that it shouldn't be considered a "trailer", but it IS in some states.